Chapter 1

Pairing: Tokka (Toph/Sokka)

Rating: T (for language, as of rn)

Summary: A modern AU. When Toph Bei Fong answered the phone call the first time, she didn't have a clue what was to come from the stranger on the other line.

AN: this idea has been swimming around my head for a while now, so I decided to give it a go! Let me know what you think. (There will be more chapters.)

….

Her phone had been ringing for the past five minutes.

"Are…" Aang's uneasy voice beside her added to her growing irritation. "Are you going to answer that, Toph?"

She shifted on her bed, thumb fumbling for the 'end' button on her phone and pressing. "What does it look like, Twinkle Toes?" She threw the phone beside her carelessly. "If I don't recognize the number it reads to me, then I don't answer it. Simple as that."

"Yeah, but what if…I dunno it's something important?"

Toph snorted. "If it's important enough, the person will find another way to contact me, right?"

"I-I guess."

Choosing to ignore her best friend's hesitation, Toph shrugged and fought a yawn, leaning against the wall behind her. "When are you leaving for that stupid club meeting?"

Despite the fact that she couldn't see him, Toph had a feeling the twenty year-old was giving her a look. "It's not stu -"

"Incoming call from…"

"Are you fucking serious?"

Her cell phone vibrated near her and, with a curse, Toph reached blindly for it. "Who the hell is this?"

The voice on the other end inhaled sharply before exclaiming, "You're not my sister. Shit. Who is this?"

"I think I'll be the one askin' the questions," she snapped. "Who are you and why are you calling my phone?"

"Easy there," the man laughed nervously, his tone becoming high. "I think my sister gave me the wrong number. And I'm lost."

"Huh. How about that." Breathing a sigh, she said, "Now that that's settled, stop fucking calling me. Goodbye."

"Wait!"

She hesitated, thumb hovering over the button on her phone. "What?"

"Do you, by any insane chance, happen to live in Republic City? I noticed the area code… "

"And why would I tell you that?"

"Because I'm lost and need help."

Toph groaned. "Fine. Where are you?"

"Eh, I'm…" There was a moment's silence. "I'm in front of a tea shop - the Jasmine Dragon. I need to get to the university."

The young woman toyed with the idea of fucking with the man; after all, she was blind, for fuck's sake. Directions were not exactly her strength. She aimed a kick at Aang's figure at her feet before muttering, "How do you get from the Jasmine Dragon to here?"

Aang's tone was confused, but he answered, nevertheless, "You cross the street, take a right, walk for ten minutes, turn left at a statue of a turtleduck, and then you come across the sign for the school. Why…?"

"Hello? Are you there?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm here. Are you listenin'?" She breathed. "Cross the street from the Dragon, take a right and walk for ten minutes, when you see a turtleduck statue turn left, and then you should take it from there."

"….Is that it?"

"Did I stutter?"

"Okay, okay." She could hear the sounds of traffic around him. "I'm gonna try it. Thanks, I guess."

"Don't call me anymore. Goodbye."

Before he could utter another word, she ended the phone call, tossing the small device to the side once more. "Men," she sighed, her foot connecting with Aang's knee again.

"So, he was lost?" Aang inquired.

"Yep. Apparently his sister fucked up her number and gave him mine. Dunno how that works, but whatever. He's coming here, though." She shrugged. "So, I guess his sister goes here. Dunno. Don't care. So long as he doesn't call me anymore…"

Aang shifted, coming to a stand. "Now that that's settled, are you going to come with me to the yoga meeting?"

Toph attempted giving Aang her best "are you fucking kidding me" look. "I think I'll pass."

"Okay, then. You're always welcome."

Remaining silent, Toph listened as Aang shuffled out of her room. The door closed and she flopped onto her stomach, inhaling and exhaling deeply. Her roommate was due to arrive back from work any minute, giving Toph a few precious moments of peace. With the arrival of a new semester came a mountain load of stress upon the young woman's shoulders; her parents wanted this and that, she needed to determine a major, relationship troubles. Aang was, in short, the one person Toph didn't mind being around almost constantly; the philosophy student's mere presence was a calming medicine to her.

The door opened and closed. A familiar scent (tea and cigarettes) hit Toph's nostrils and she recognized Mai's soft footsteps. The thing she liked about her roommate was the lack of talking she did; she spoke when the words were important and that was it. The two women coexisted peacefully now that Toph was single (Mai hadn't been a fan of Toph's brash, radical ex-boyfriend).

Toph listened as Mai shuffled about the room quietly (it had taken her some time to become accustomed to the woman's way of walking around as if she were walking on air). She was about to inquire about work when her phone rang.

"Incoming call from…"

"You have got to be fucking kidding me." Sitting up, she reaching for her phone. "This had better be fucking good," she snarled.

"Yeah, it is." The voice, the same one as before, sounded annoyed. "Because I'm lost. Again."

"And whose problem is that?"

"Well, since you gave me directions…"

"Ugh. You idiot. Can't you ask someone around you for directions?"

"I could, but why do that when I can ask you?"

"Because you're annoying the piss out of me."

"Ha."

"It's not funny. I'm hanging up. Don't call me back. Stay lost. I don't care."

This time, she turned off her phone, collapsing against the pillows with a groan.

"Was that who I think it was?" Mai asked skeptically from across the room.

"No," Toph's voice was muffled by the pillows. "It was some stranger."

"Oh. Good."

….

When Toph had turned off her cell phone, she hadn't considered the simple fact that the small device was also her alarm clock.

Stumbling out of bed with a curse, her hands reached blindly for her phone, turning it on. "Welcome," it greeted, the voice masculine and all-together annoying. "The current time is ten-thirty AM. You have one missed call and one voicemail."

"Shit, shit, shit." She moved around clumsily, grabbing her bag and slinging it across her shoulder. Her first class had started thirty minutes ago. Thankfully, she shared the class with Aang and was confident that he could catch her up, but still. "Voicemail," she commanded into her phone, slamming the door behind her as she used her cane to walk.

"Hey, Toph. It's Aang. I'm just - uh, wondering where you're at. Class is about to start. Call me back if you can."

"Delete message."

Stuffing the phone inside her sweater pocket, Toph briefly wondered just how bad she looked; hair unkempt, clothes on from yesterday, and a scowl in place. Hell, she didn't give a damn how bad she looked. When did she -

"Incoming call from…"

She wasn't sure what possessed her as she quickly answered.

"What?"

"Uh, it's me again. I just wanted to apologize for - "

"Annoying the piss out of me? Blowing up my phone? Making me late for class?"

"Uh, yes, yes, and no. How am I the reason you're late for class?"

"I had to turn my phone off, which is also my alarm, because of you."

"That's not really my fault," the voice on the other end defended. She noticed that when he was indignant, his voice became comically high.

"It is every bit your fault," she snapped, opening the door to the humanities building (she had the placements of the buildings memorized). "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a fucking class to attend. Oh, and - "

"Don't call you again?" the voice deadpanned. "Yeah, whatever."

This time, he was the one to hang up.